What does public, private and hybrid cloud actually mean?

The concept behind cloud technology has been around since the 1950s, but it didn’t become fully realized for several decades.  From 2008 to the present, cloud computing has gained ever-increasing momentum, as more and more companies adopt the strategy of maximizing the effectiveness of shared resources.  But not all clouds are the same. So what does public, private and hybrid clouds actually mean?

Distinguishing between the cloud models (public, private, and hybrid) will help you determine the type of backup system that will suit your organization best: 

• A public cloud is a managed solution that utilizes an off-site data center to provide flexibility and scalability for computing and storage needs.
• The private cloud, as the name suggests, is the result of a company investing in its own data center--which will operate behind a corporate firewall.
• A hybrid cloud simply offers a mixed approach to infrastructure that links together two unique data centers, one private and the other public.

The type of cloud deployment solution you are considering can impact your backup and recovery. With a public cloud, your backup solution should optimize data capture and storage in order to help minimize bandwidth demands on the corporate network. A public cloud backup solution will typically require the services of a cloud backup service provider.  You will want to make sure that the company can supply both infrastructure and the necessary backup/recovery software as well as  operational skills/expertise.

With either a private or hybrid cloud, you may require the services of a cloud backup service provider.  This will ensure that  your company is provided with the necessary software platform to manage backups in the private cloud. In the case of a hybrid cloud, your company will have the option of switching between a private data center and a cloud-based storage option depending on your backup and recovery needs.